Here are the full original texts of 150 of the best-loved hymns in the English language, from the time of the Early Church to the late 20th century.

Each is accompanied by a fascinating commentary, giving biographical details of the author, such as the Calvinist creator of "Rock of Ages" who once calculated that the average human sins 2,522,880,000 times; notes on the circumstances in which the hymn was written and how it has been used; and variant versions including the parodies of 'The Church's One Foundation' and 'What a friend we have in Jesus' sung by British soldiers in the trenches of Flanders in the First World War.

This book should greatly assist all those responsible for choosing hymns in churches and places of worship, provide rich resources for bedside reading and meditation and provide useful background material for the millions who watch "Songs of Praise" on television every Sunday evening.

Ian Bradley's commentaries combine wit, elegance and charm with a scholar's erudition and expert knowledge. He has enjoyed singing hymns and playing them on the piano for as long as he can remember.

He attributes the origin of this enthusiasm to his father's enthusiasm for revivalist hymns and choruses and his own exposure as a boy to thundering hymns in the chapel of Tonbridge School. Among his other enthusiasms are Gilbert and Sullivan, European spas, hill walking and tennis.